Bible Quotation For Today/Songs of
Praise
Isaiah 12/01-06: "In that day you will say: “I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have
comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be
afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
He has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells
of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord,
proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and
proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done
glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and
sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among
you.”".

Salafist Sheikh Salem al-Rafei: Hands off Tripoli 'Allah' statue
The Daily Star/Feb. 10, 2015
BEIRUT: An influential Tripoli sheikh rejected Interior Minister Nouhad
Machnouk’s reported proposal to replace the Islamist slogan in Tripoli’s main
square with a more subtle Quranic verse. Tripoli’s Nour Square currently
contains a large ornament of the world “Allah” with the slogan “Tripoli, the
fortress of Muslims” under it. Salafist Sheikh Salem al-Rafei, who is a member
of the Muslim Scholars Committee, urged authorities not to remove the ornament
in comments Tuesday morning to Voice of Lebanon radio station (100.3-100.5).
In comments published by the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat newspaper earlier Tuesday,
Machnouk said he had contacted Tripoli’s mufti as well as Rafei to suggest
replacing the Quranic verse: “Enter in peace, safe [and secure].” The verse
describes how righteous believers will be welcomed into heaven. Machnouk also
told Al-Hayat that the black Islamist flags in the city must be removed because
they had been used by “terrorist groups that executed servicemen in Arsal’s
outskirts.” However, Machnouk released a statement later Tuesday accusing Al-Hayat’s
report of being “inaccurate,” and saying the newspaper used an incomplete part
of his comments.
The statement did not indicate which part of the report he was contesting.
Police last week began removing religious and political signage in Tripoli and
across other parts of the country. The removal of black flags with scripture
“There is no god but Allah, Mohammad is the prophet of Allah” left Salafist-inspired
MP Khaled Daher fuming. At a protest at Nour Square Sunday, he told his
followers that Christians should be the first to remove their religious emblems
from public spaces, kicking off a firestorm of criticism.
Daher described the measures as a campaign against Sunnis. He later apologized,
saying he didn’t mean to offend Christians. Harsh reactions came in from his
political allies and rivals alike. Deputy Kataeb Party leader and Labor Minister
Sejaan Azzi called for the ousting of Daher from the March 14 bloc, saying the
remarks were “sectarian and offensive against Christians.”Justice Minister
Ashraf Rifi, a member of the Future Movement, was not convinced by the MP’s
apology, and said “such issues must not be addressed during this critical
phase.”Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat also tried to distance his party from the
Daher, saying that the lawmaker “is a member of the March 14 coalition, but not
a member of the Future Movement.”Daher on Monday said he was not trying to be
offensive, but believed there was a need for equality between religious groups.
However, criticisms continued to pile on.On Tuesday, Free Patriotic Movement MP
Alain Aoun called on him to resign. FPM activist Fuad Chehab filed a complaint
against Daher, accusing him of inciting sectarian tensions, harming national
unity and offending religious beliefs. The removal of religious banners and
political posters in Tripoli are in line with an agreement reached during
dialogue sessions between the Future Movement and Hezbollah to defuse sectarian
tensions in the country.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai seeks
help of Vatican, France to end vacuumHussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/Feb. 11, 2015
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai has pleaded with France and the Vatican
to help in the election of a new Lebanese president, officials said Tuesday, in
the latest attempt by the influential Maronite Church to end the 9-month-old
vacuum in the country’s top Christian post. Rai made the plea during a two-hour
meeting with French presidential envoy Jean-Francois Girault in Rome Monday. The
meeting was also attended by the Vatican Foreign Minister Monsignor Paul
Gallagher, reflecting the Vatican’s concern over the lingering presidential
deadlock in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri said he would meet with Prime Minister Tammam
Salam soon to discuss the mechanism in taking the Cabinet’s decisions, in
addition to the issue of opening an extraordinary session for Parliament. “The
Constitution’s provisions are clear with regard to the mechanism in taking
decisions in the Cabinet in the absence or presence of the president. The
solution lies in abiding by these provisions,” Berri was quoted as telling
visitors to his Ain al-Tineh residence.
While the presidency seat remains vacant, the Cabinet has adopted a mechanism
under which all decisions should be made unanimously and decrees signed by all
24 ministers.
Berri, according to visitors, also ruled out a new round of talks this week
between the Future Movement and Hezbollah. He said the two rival parties might
discuss the presidential election issue if they deemed this appropriate. During
his talks with Girault, “Patriarch Rai thanked the influential countries, namely
France and the Vatican, and asked them to help in facilitating the election of a
new president in Lebanon,” Walid Ghayyad, a spokesman for Rai, told The Daily
Star by phone from Rome.
Describing the meeting as “good and positive,” Ghayyad said Girault briefed Rai
on the outcome of his talks on the presidential election during his second tour
in the Middle East. In addition to Lebanon, Girault had visited Saudi Arabia,
Iran and the Vatican for talks focusing mainly on ways to end the presidential
vacancy. The French envoy discussed with Rai the “possible means to resolve the
presidential vacuum crisis in Lebanon and the needed moves in Lebanon and the
role that should be played by friendly states, at the forefront of which is the
Holy See and France,” Ghayyad said. He added that it was agreed during the
meeting that Girault would continue his efforts as part of a French initiative
to break the presidential deadlock.
After examining the crises in the region, the French envoy and the patriarch
“agreed on the importance of maintaining Lebanon’s great role, which constitutes
a unique example and a main factor of stability in the Middle East through its
distinctive system and Christian-Muslim coexistence based on equality,
especially since Lebanon is the only country in the region whose presidency is
headed by a Christian,” said a statement released by the Maronite patriarch’s
media office.
A senior source close to Rai in Beirut said the Vatican was upset with the
lingering vacancy in the presidency. “The Vatican demands the election of a
Lebanese president as soon as possible,” the source told The Daily Star. Rai had
discussed the presidential crisis and the status of Christians in the Middle
East during a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican last week. The
Rai-Girault meeting came days after the French envoy visited Beirut last week,
apparently without making any headway in the presidential crisis in his talks
with rival Lebanese leaders as the March 8 and March 14 parties upheld their
support for opposing candidates.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is supported by Hezbollah and its
March 8 allies for the presidency, against the March 14 coalition-backed
candidate, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.
Parliament has since last April failed in 18 attempts to elect a president due
to a lack of quorum as the feuding parties remain at odds over a consensus
candidate. A new election session is set for Feb. 18.
Rival Lebanese leaders have argued that a Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is
essential to facilitate the election of a president.
A senior source close to Rai said the Maronite patriarch supported the ongoing
dialogue between the FPM and LF, hoping it would help break the presidential
impasse. “The patriarch considers the LF-FPM dialogue to be a main gateway to
facilitate the election of a president,” the source told The Daily Star.
Although Rai had in his previous sermons blamed foreign factors, mainly the
Sunni-Shiite tensions in the region and the strained Saudi-Iranian ties, for
delaying the presidential vote, the source said: “The patriarch fully holds the
Lebanese responsible for the failure to elect a president.”
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour warned that the presidential vacuum has been
turned into a constitutional crisis. “The presidential vacuum should come to an
end. It’s time for this vacuum to end and for the Lebanese political parties
across the country to reach unanimity over a new president, who would be the
gateway to regular constitutional and political life,” Abu Faour told reporters
after meeting Salam at the Grand Serail. “We don’t know where this presidential
vacuum, which has been long and turned from a political crisis into a
constitutional crisis, might lead.”

Hezbollah leads fight to retake
Syria’s south
The Daily Star/Feb. 11, 2015 |
BEIRUT: Syria’s army gained ground from rebels in the south Tuesday in what a
monitoring group described as a large-scale offensive in the region backed by
Hezbollah fighters against insurgents including Al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing. The
south is one of the last remaining areas where mainstream, non-jihadi rebels
fighting President Bashar Assad have a foothold. Just a short drive to Damascus,
the area remains a risk to the Syrian leader, who has otherwise consolidated
control over much of the west. “The operation started two days ago and is very
big,” Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
monitoring group, said Tuesday. Abdel-Rahman said the offensive aims to take a
triangle of rebel-held territory from rural areas southwest of Damascus to Deraa
to Qunaitra. Syrian media and rebel sources said Tuesday that battles raged in
several areas of southern Syria. Unlike the Observatory, a Syrian military
source said the army was leading the offensive.
“The Syrian army and its allies, including Hezbollah, are fighting battles
against armed groups in Qunaitra and Deraa provinces,” the source told AFP on
condition of anonymity.
He added that the goal of the campaign was to “put a stop to the armed men’s
attacks, [as they inch] toward the capital.”Iran has acknowledged sending
military advisers and high-ranking officers from the elite Revolutionary Guard
to help its ally Assad. In January, an Israeli airstrike killed six Hezbollah
members, including the son of slain top commander Imad Mughniyeh, and an Iranian
general in Qunaitra, near the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights.
Syrian troops had been on the defensive in the south, losing control of large
areas of countryside near Jordan as well as parts of the border along with
Israel near the Golan Heights, according to regional military analysts and
diplomats. The southern rebels, often described as the best organized of the
mainstream armed opposition, see themselves as the last hope for a 4-year-old
uprising and war hijacked by Islamist militants, and are seeking a higher
profile and more help. But the Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing, also has a
presence in the region. Islamist insurgents also control wide expanses of
Syria’s north and east.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar news channel said government forces had captured the town
of Deir al-Adas and Syrian state television quoted a military source saying the
town of Denaji between Damascus and the far southern boundary town of Qunaitra
was taken “a number of terrorists were eliminated.”The leader of a mainstream
rebel group in the area said the situation in Deir al-Adas was “dangerous” and
that the nearby town of Deir Maker had fallen to government forces. Syria’s
state news agency SANA said the army had also killed insurgents near the town of
Sheikh Maskeen, close to the main north-south highway between Damascus and the
Jordanian border. A mainstream rebel group in southern Syria calling itself “The
First Army” said in a statement that it had started a battle to take control of
Namer and Qarfa in Deraa province and would attack six other locations. A
reporter for the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen news channel, which has embedded its
journalists with the Syrian army, said from Qunaitra that the large-scale army
operation had cut off an important supply route for rebels from Jordan to
rebel-controlled areas west of Damascus.

Iran President: World Must 'Seize
Opportunity' of Nuclear Deal
Naharnet/Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that world powers must
"seize the opportunity" of a landmark nuclear deal, saying Tehran had taken the
"necessary steps" for an accord. Rouhani's remarks appeared to be a response to
U.S. President Barack Obama, who on Monday said: "The issues now are -- does
Iran have the political will and the desire to get a deal done?" "Right now good
progress has been made although we are some distance away from the final
agreement," the Iranian president said, during a meeting in Tehran with India's
national security adviser Ajit Doval. "Iran has taken necessary steps and now
it’s the other side's turn to seize the opportunity." Two deadlines for a
permanent agreement on Iran's controversial nuclear program have already been
missed, requiring the talks to be extended. Negotiators are now working toward
the political outline of a deal by March 31, with the cut-off point for the
technical details of a comprehensive accord by June 30. Rouhani said that
although gaps remain between Iran and the P5+1 powers -- Britain, China, France,
Russia and the United States plus Germany -- it was up to them to close a deal.
Disagreements center on the extent of nuclear activities Iran will be allowed to
continue and the timetable for the lifting of sanctions.Agence France Presse

Salam Considering Adoption of New Mechanism to Facilitate
Cabinet Work
Naharnet/Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq revealed on Tuesday that
Prime Minister Tammam Salam is seeking to reach a new mechanism that organizes
the work of his cabinet. “Salam aims at giving ministers the right to veto
decrees that are exceptional and non-controversial,” Mashnouq said in comments
published in the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper. He described the talks as
positive as the rival ministers have no objection on reaching a mechanism that
facilitates their meetings. The government, which assumed the president’s
prerogatives, has been stuck in a limbo after President Michel Suleiman's tenure
ended in May as any decree requires the agreement of the 23 rival ministers to
be approved. Such a process is hindering the government's work over the veto
right that certain cabinet members are exercising. Ongoing disputes between the
rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the elections. Mashnouq told the daily
that the presidential crisis reached a dead end, expressing hope that “the
regional countries would remove obstacles impeding the election of a new head of
state soon.”
Riachi Says Dialogue with FPM on Right Track
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces official Melhem Riachi stressed on Tuesday that
dialogue with the Free Patriotic Movement is on the right track, pointing out
that negotiations are based on fixed principles. “The meetings will not be
folkloric,” Riachi said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.
The LF official stressed that the two parties are “seeking to open a new page
away from the past differences.”“We are almost done with the first stage of
talks that is paving the way for a meeting between the LF chief (Samir Geagea)
and FPM leader (Michel Aoun),” Riachi added. The official considered the
presidential election as “part of the understanding” between the two parties.
The rivalry between Aoun and Geagea has left the Baabda Palace vacant. Lebanon
has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term
ended in May. An Nahar newspaper reported that the draft paper of the
understanding between the two parties is awaiting for Geagea to review the
comments of Aoun. The LF chief traveled on February 2 on a private visit to
Europe

Report: Hariri to Mark10th Assassination Anniversary of his
Father in Person
Naharnet/Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri
might reportedly attend the anniversary of his father's assassination at the
BIEL exhibition center in downtown Beirut on February 14. According to An Nahar
newspaper published on Tuesday, Hariri is mulling to give his speech in person
instead of appearing via video link. Al-Mustaqbal sources told the newspaper
that Hizbullah is not invited to the event, which will include 6,000 guests,
despite the ongoing dialogue between the two parties. Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal
kicked off on December 23 a dialogue at Ain el-Tineh under the sponsorship of
Speaker Nabih Berri to defuse tension between Shiites and Sunnis. The Special
Tribunal for Lebanon is tackling the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri and 22
others during a major bombing in Beirut. The tribunal is currently listening to
the testimonies of a number of witnesses who were close to Hariri in the months
preceding the assassination. It has so far indicted five Hizbullah members of
being involved in the crime. Hizbullah has denounced the tribunal as an
American-Zionist entity aimed at destroying it. The party's chief Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah has vowed that the suspects, who are still at large, will never be
found.

Mashnouq Says Bekaa's Security Plan Takes its Course this
Week
Naharnet/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq has said that a much-anticipated
security plan for the eastern Bekaa Valley will be implemented in the coming
days. The plan for Bekaa's North will most likely be implemented over the
weekend, al-Mashnouq told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Tuesday. Around
1,000 Lebanese troops and 1,000 officers from the Internal Security Forces and
General Security are expected to clamp down on criminal activity in the Baalbek-Hermel
region. The area is known to be a safe haven for car-theft gangs and drug
dealers, as well as suspects involved in kidnapping people in return for ransom.
Al-Mashnouq revealed that he has also plans to resolve the current situation in
the southern refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh that lies near the coastal city of
Sidon. “It is no longer acceptable for it to become a refuge for outlaws
particularly those belonging to armed terrorist organizations,” said the
minister. He told al-Hayat that he has held several meetings with the
representatives of Palestinian factions in the camp for that purpose.
On the recent campaign to remove party banners and flags from Beirut and several
cities, al-Mashnouq said there is no going back on the decision now. He stressed
that security forces are tasked with removing the black banners from the
northern city of Tripoli. He was referring to the slogans of extremists who have
pledged allegiance to Syria-based militant groups such as the Islamic State and
al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front.

UAE Resumes Air Strikes against IS Jihadists
Naharnet /The United Arab Emirates resumed air strikes on Tuesday against the
Islamic State group which it had suspended after the jihadists captured a
Jordanian pilot in December, the military said. "Aircraft of the F-16 squadron
based in Jordan launched raids this morning against positions of the Daesh (IS)
terrorist organisation, hitting their targets and returning safely to base," the
UAE armed forces command said. Jordan and the UAE are part of the U.S.-led
coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS since last year.
Monday's statement did not say how many aircraft from the UAE squadron were in
action, or where or what their targets were. The squadron deployed to Jordan on
Sunday to boost the kingdom's fight against IS after the jihadists brutally
murdered the captured pilot.
C-17 transporters and refuelling planes were also sent on the orders of Abu
Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan as a show of solidarity. "The
initiative... reaffirms the UAE's unwavering and constant solidarity with Jordan
and its leading role and immense sacrifices for the security and stability of
the region as embodied by martyr and hero Maaz al-Kassasbeh," the UAE state news
agency WAM said on Sunday. Kassasbeh is the Jordanian pilot captured by IS when
his plane crashed over northern Syria in December. The jihadists later burned
him alive. Following Kassasbeh's murder, the UAE withdrew from the coalition's
strike missions over fears for the safety of its pilots. The New York Times
reported that the UAE wanted more to be done in terms of search and rescue of
downed pilots in the conflict zones. On Thursday, the U.S. military said it had
deployed aircraft and troops to northern Iraq to boost its ability to rescue
downed coalition pilots. A U.S. official said on Friday, after Secretary of
State John Kerry met Gulf ministers in Munich, that UAE flights were likely to
resume "in a couple of days". Agence France Presse

Lebanese-born Texas man,Wissam Allouche, on trial over past
‘Hezbollah links’
The Daily Star/Feb. 10, 2015/BEIRUT: A Lebanese-born U.S. citizen is being tried
on charges that he kept secret his alleged prior affiliations with Hezbollah and
Amal to remain in the United States and possibly gain access to sensitive
information, a local Texas newspaper reported. San Antonio Express newspaper
said that Wissam Allouche, 45, began his trial Monday in a federal court. The
allegations stem from his ex-wife’s relatives who reported him to the FBI. When
a Joint Terrorism Task Force opened an investigation into the allegations in
2009, he was automatically put on a terror watch list. The United States
considers Hezbollah a “terrorist” organization. Allouche denies the allegations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Roomberg told jurors in opening statements that
Allouche admitted to an undercover agent to previously being a commander in the
Amal Movement’s armed wing, which is currently allied with Hezbollah. But the
two groups were rivals during the 1980s – the period during which Allouche is
alleged to have been an Amal fighter. Roomberg also said that he told his
ex-wife’s family that he served time in an Israeli jail and pummeled to death an
Israeli pilot. Those stories and others prompted counter-terrorism agents to
launch a probe into the allegations, the San Antonio Express said. The report
said that Allouche worked as a linguist for the U.S. Army in Iraq during the
latter years of the occupation. He reportedly got the gig after marrying an Army
officer in Germany before moving to the United States in 2002.

Israel and Egypt forewarned of synchronized ISIS-Sinai
assaults in both countries
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 9, 2015/Intelligence gathered by Egypt and
Israel attest to the former Ansar Bait al-Maqdis - now reborn as the Islamic
State’s operational arm in Sinai – being well into advanced preparations for a
large-scale terrorist offensive targeting Israel forces manning the Egyptian
frontier, along with a string of Egyptian targets across Sinai up to and
including the Suez Canal and Cairo. According to debkafile’s counter-terrorism
sources, the Islamist group was so elated by the outcome of its multiple attacks
on Jan. 29, which left at least 40 Egyptian soldiers dead and more than 100
injured in Sinai and Suez towns, that it is determined to keep going. Using
different types of rockets, including Grads, as well as mortars and car bombs,
terrorist squads then broke into military bases in four cities in Sinai and two
on the Suez Canal and set them on fire. Others killed all the personnel aboard
military and police convoys before putting them to the torch. The ISIS Sinai arm
is planning to target Israeli forces with a similar type of multiple offensive.
Appropriate precautions for fending off this attack are in place. Cairo banned
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, as a terrorist organization in the wake of
the support the Palestinian extremists extended to ISIS for this wholesale
assault, supplying the terrorists with rockets and intelligence. In addition to
Hamas, DEBKA’s sources report that Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has entered into
operational collaboration with a newly-established Egyptian Islamist group,
which calls itself “Agnad Misr” – Soldiers of Egypt. This group first broke
surface on Jan. 24 with a communiqué bearing the motto “Retribution is Life.” It
turns out to be made up of Salafi extremists mixed with former members of the
Egyptian Islamic Jihad, one of the forerunners of the original Al Qaeda. Its
terror agenda focuses on Cairo and its environs.

We must take the fight to ISIS’ doorstep
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
Octavia Nasr/Al Arabiya
ISIS and other extremist groups continue to capture the world media headlines
pushing horrific mass murders out of sight and out of mind. ISIS’ cruelty and
barbaric acts are desperate attempts to attract attention and spread fear. They
mask the terror group’s substantive expansion and drive us to ignore real crimes
committed by sitting tyrants. World-class murderers and mobs are engaged in mass
killings, uprooting and intimidation while those who can act and make a
difference are too busy reacting aimlessly to ISIS’ drama.
The result is a knee-jerk reaction, a show of force that appeases emotions and
distracts from the real problems at hand. It allows criminals to get away with
their murders, or worse, plan and execute new ones. The timing of the air raids
on ISIS positions and execution of al-Qaeda prisoners do not show signs of a
planned operation with a clear aim and objectives The Jordanian reaction to the
burning alive to its pilot was predictable and in many ways welcome. But the
timing of the air raids on ISIS positions and execution of al-Qaeda prisoners do
not show signs of a planned operation with a clear aim and objectives.
Shuttle diplomacy
The renewed shuttle diplomacy that ensued could potentially lead somewhere if
genuine and not simply another emotional reaction. From Europe, we heard about
efforts to strengthen Iraq’s sovereignty while emphasizing the Kurdish role for
a possible lasting solution to usher in stability for Iraq and the region. This
would have been a positive sign if we did not have the failing examples of
western inaction or badly timed actions to take into account such as in Syria,
Yemen, Libya and Egypt. On the Syrian front, where the ISIS threat is most
urgent, the recent U.S. rhetoric is disappointing as it dropped the original
demand that “Assad must go,” to suggest a more inclusive scenario of
power-sharing between Assad and Syrian opposition. There does not seem to be a
plan for the millions of refugees scattered around the region, nor a clear plan
to defeat ISIS. Reading between the shadows of busy bodies hopping on planes and
serving diplomatic jargon to a media corps still in a deep coma, it seems that
the west is desperately looking for a temporary solution. Maybe even a simple
mending of its battered image. While ISIS distracts us with theatrics, tyrants
run amok to keep their clout, and the majority oblivious individuals among us
think they are removed and safe. If the fight is not taken to ISIS directly,
fierce, door-to-door, and costly, the nightmare of the so-called Islamic
Caliphate will soon be a reality on the ground and it will threaten everyone
without exception.

Obama warns Netanyahu: Don't sour Iran talks with Congress
speech
Yitzhak Benhorin, Gilad Morag/Ynetnews
Published: 02.09.15/ Israel News
US president says difference in stance on Tehran is separate from the decision
not to meet with PM during his Washington visit; Netanyahu says he's determined
to speak to Congress to 'prevent dangerous agreement' with Iran.
US President Barack Obama on Monday warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
against souring nuclear negotiations with Iran with his planned Congress
address.
"It does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they're
about to be completed and we should play that out. If, in fact, we can get a
deal, then we should embrace that," the president said in a joint press
conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "If we can't get a deal, then
we'll have to make a set of decisions and, as I've said to Congress, I'll be the
first one to work with them to apply even stronger measures against Iran," he
said. "But what's the rush? Unless your view is that it's not possible to get a
deal with Iran and it shouldn't even be tested. And that, I cannot agree with,
because as the president of the United States, I'm looking at what the options
are if we don't get a diplomatic resolution. And those options are narrow, and
they're not attractive," the president added.
However, despite the "real differences" between the American administration's
position and that of Israel on Iran, "that's separate and apart from Mr.
Netanyahu coming to Washington," Obama said. When asked about the decision not
to meet with Netanyahu when the Israeli prime minister visits Washington next
month to address Congress on the Iranian threat, Obama reiterated that the
decision was made due to the proximity to the elections in Israel.
Her added that "as much as I love Angela, if she was two weeks away from an
election, she probably would not have received an invitation to the White House,
and I suspect she wouldn't have asked for one." He went on to say that the
decision also "has to do with how we do business, and I think it's important for
us to maintain these protocols because the US-Israeli relationship is not about
a particular party."
Netanyahu is due to address a joint session of Congress about Iran's nuclear
program on March 3, just two weeks before Israeli elections, following an
invitation from John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House.
Boehner's invitation has caused consternation in both Israel and the United
States, largely because it is seen as Netanyahu, a hawk on Iran, working with
the Republicans to thumb their noses at Obama's policy on Iran. As a result,
Israeli officials told Reuters they are considering whether Netanyahu should
speak to a closed-door session of Congress, rather than in a prime-time TV
address, so as to drain some of the intensity from the event, a source said.
Another option is for the prime minister to make his speech at the annual
meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington the same
week, rather than in Congress. Officials in Netanyahu's office said that for now
his schedule had not changed. "In the past days the prime minister has been
approached several times about his trip to the United States," one official
said. "At the moment there is no change in the plans."
The American president warned the prime minister not to let the relationship
between the United States and Israel be "clouded with what could be perceived as
partisan politics." "This isn't a relationship founded on affinity between the
Labor Party and the Democratic Party or the Likud and the Republican Party. This
is the US-Israeli relationship that extends beyond parties and has to do with
that unbreakable bond that we feel and - and our commitment to Israel's security
and the shared values that we have," Obama said.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, was not concerned about what his visit may do to US-Israel
ties. "From the state's establishment to this day, there have been significant
disagreements between Israel and the US and relations remained strong. This will
be the case this time as well," he said during a launch event for the Likud's
Russian-language elections campaign.
On nuclear negotiations with Iran, the US president said issues and gaps in
negotiations have been "sufficiently narrowed and sufficiently clarified" and
that the so-called P5+1 group has now offered Iran a deal that "allows them to
have peaceful nuclear power but gives us the absolute assurance that is
verifiable that they are not pursuing a nuclear weapon."
The issues, he said, were no longer technical but rather political. "The issue
now is whether Iran has the political will and desire to get a deal done," Obama
said.
The US president also said he does not believe an extension would be "useful"
unless Iran can agree to the basic outlines of a deal.
"If Iran has no aspiration to get nuclear weapon, there should be a possibility
to get a deal," Obama said. "They have to make a decision."Netanyahu, meanwhile,
said he was determined to go to Washington and address Congress.
"While there are those who are focusing on protocol or politics, "A bad deal
with Iran is forming in Munich that will endanger Israel's existence. According
to reports, the agreement will allow them to produce dozens of nuclear bombs. As
prime minister, it is my duty to do everything to prevent this dangerous
agreement and that's why I'm determined to go to Washington and present Israel's
position before the members of Congress and the American people," he said.
Meanwhile, Sen Bernie Sanders, an independent, is the first senator to announce
he won't attend Netanyahu's speech. Democratic Reps. John Lewis and Jim Clyburn
are among a handful in their party who have pledged to boycott Netanyahu's
speech. "The president of the United States heads up our foreign policy and the
idea that the president wasn't even consulted - that is wrong," Sanders said. "I
am not going. I may watch it on TV, but I'm not going."
**The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

How to Judge Putin's Trip to Egypt
Anna Borshchevskaya/Washington Institute
February 09, 2015
The visit will give the Kremlin a chance to increase its reach in Egypt while
signaling to the West that Putin remains an influential world leader.
On February 9-10, Russian president Vladimir Putin will travel to Egypt for a
bilateral meeting at President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's invitation. "The full
range of bilateral relations will be discussed at the upcoming summit, including
political, trade and economic, and humanitarian relations," according to a
Kremlin-issued statement; "The two leaders will also exchange views on the
situation in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Iraq, Syria,
Libya, and with regard to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process." In addition,
Moscow reportedly seeks to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, and Russian
companies are looking to enter the country's oil and gas sector, so these issues
may be broached as well.
RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN RELATIONS
As U.S.-Egyptian relations declined sharply after the military ouster of former
president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, Russian-Egyptian relations began
improving. Cairo grew increasingly mistrustful of what it perceived as U.S.
engagement with the Muslim Brotherhood. For his part, President Obama was
somewhat critical of the coup, but perhaps more important, Washington delayed
weapons deliveries to Egypt, withheld military aid, and later halted the nascent
bilateral strategic dialogue.
In contrast, the Kremlin expressed support for the new Egyptian leadership after
the coup, and senior officials have exchanged a number of visits since then. In
November 2013, an Egyptian delegation visited Moscow and thanked Russia for its
support of the "June 30 Revolution." The following February, Putin
enthusiastically endorsed Sisi's presidential bid during a meeting with the
field marshal outside Moscow, telling him, "This is a very responsible decision,
to take upon yourself responsibility for the fate of the Egyptian people. I wish
you luck on my own behalf and that of the Russian people."
As U.S.-Egyptian relations continued to worsen, Cairo increasingly turned away
from the West and toward Russia. Last year, the two countries initialed arms
contracts worth $3.5 billion -- their largest deal in many years, to be funded
by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The contract reportedly stipulates
that Russia will supply the Egyptian military with MiG-29 fighter jets, Mi-35
attack helicopters, air-defense missile complexes, ammunition, and other
equipment. Obtaining more helicopters is especially critical to Egypt's campaign
against Islamist insurgents. The military already owns several Russian
helicopters; according to firsthand pilot accounts, they are a very good fit for
Egypt's needs. Thus far, however, there is no evidence that the sale has
happened yet, most likely because Saudi Arabia has not come through with the
payment.
Meanwhile, during a press conference in Moscow late last month, Egyptian
ambassador to Russia Mohammed al-Badri reportedly described bilateral relations
as "on the rise," describing how trade between the two countries had increased
to $3 billion in 2014. According to Russia's Federal Customs Service, the figure
is even higher -- $4.6 billion between January and December 2014, $4.1 billion
of which was Russian exports. Russia is the world's fourth-largest wheat
producer, and Egypt is its second-largest buyer; for example, it purchased
approximately 20 percent of Russia's wheat exports from 2013 to March 2014,
according to the Financial Times. Georgy Petrov, a vice president with the
Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted recently that Russian
businessmen are eager to enter Egyptian markets. Moreover, of the 10 million
Russian tourists who traveled abroad in 2014, more than 3 million visited Egypt
-- mainly Sharm al-Sheikh, effectively keeping the beleaguered Sinai resort city
afloat.
RUSSIA VS. WASHINGTON ON THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
Moscow's position on the Brotherhood converges with Sisi's. In February 2003,
the Russian Supreme Court banned the group from operating in the federation and
officially labeled it a terrorist organization. The Brotherhood had long been
problematic for Russia, with Moscow often claiming that it helped arm radical
Islamists in the North Caucasus who continue to destabilize the region today.
To be sure, the Kremlin sought to improve ties with Morsi once he became
president, in part to regain some of the influence it had lost in the Arab
world. For example, Putin publicly supported his attempts at "normalizing the
situation" in Gaza in 2012, while Morsi sought to restore economic cooperation
between the two countries in an April 2013 visit to Russia, in the context of
Egypt's financial difficulties. Yet the latter talks did not lead to action.
Ultimately, Moscow prefers a secular government in Egypt due to its own domestic
concerns about radical Islamists. For Putin, relations with Sisi simply create
fewer strains than with Morsi.
By contrast, Egypt believed that the United States had abandoned it in the fight
against terrorists. "You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't
forget that," Sisi said in an August 2013 interview with the Washington Post,
shortly after President Obama froze the scheduled delivery of F-16s and canceled
joint military exercises. To some Egyptians, Washington even appeared to side
with Morsi. In July 2013, Husam Hindi, a leader in the Tamarod (Rebellion)
movement that spearheaded the campaign to oust Morsi, claimed that the Obama
administration was collaborating with the Brotherhood. Reports that President
Obama and the U.S. State Department hosted a number of Brotherhood members only
added fuel to such conspiracy theories.
In this context, Russia's position on the Brotherhood bolsters Moscow's
credibility in Cairo's eyes while diminishing that of the United States. The
Kremlin will not criticize Cairo on its authoritarian bent, making relations
with Russia a lot easier from Egypt's perspective and giving Cairo options
should Washington become too critical.
POTENTIAL RUSSIAN OPPORTUNITIES IN CAIRO
Putin continues to take advantage of ambiguity and contradictions in Western
policies toward the Middle East, and his visit to Cairo should be interpreted
through this lens. Moreover, the Russian and Egyptian economies are stagnating.
Russia has entered a deep recession due to both plunging oil prices and Western
sanctions sparked by the March 2014 annexation of Crimea. In Egypt, poverty and
unemployment are high amid threats from terrorism and violent domestic
opposition. It is therefore unclear whether Putin's visit will amount to
concrete steps or just talk.
Nevertheless, the trip may give Putin opportunities on several fronts.
Politically, the visit is a statement to the West that he is not isolated
internationally in light of his Ukraine aggression, despite Western statements
to the contrary. Indeed, he may increase his official visits to non-Western
countries in the months ahead to demonstrate that he is a strong global leader.
Should he reach any concrete deals in Cairo, it would certainly bolster his
claim. In this regard, any progress on the $3.5 billion weapons deal is
something to watch.
The Obama administration is correct to criticize Egypt's democratic backslide.
But when Washington cut off military aid, it also signaled withdrawal of support
from an ally. As long as this policy remains in place, it keeps open the door
for Putin and other anti-Western players to gain influence in Egypt at the
expense of U.S. interests.
**Anna Borshchevskaya is an adjunct fellow with The Washington Institute and a
fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy.

Australian police thwart said imminent ISIS-linked terror
attack
By REUTERS/02/11/2015
SYDNEY - Australian counterterrorism police said on Wednesday they had thwarted
an imminent attack linked to the Islamic State group after arresting two men in
Sydney on Tuesday. "When we did the search of the premises, a number of items
were located, including a machete, a hunting knife, a home-made flag
representing the prescribed terrorist organization IS, and also a video which
depicted a man talking about carrying out an attack," New South Wales Deputy
Police Commissioner Catherine Burn told reporters.
"We will allege that both of these men were preparing to do this act yesterday."
In December, two hostages died as police stormed a cafe in central Sydney,
ending a 17-hour siege. The gunman, Man Haron Monis, a self-styled sheik who
harboured deep grievances against the Australian government and sought to align
himself with the Islamic State militant group, was also killed. A number of
raids have taken place in Sydney and Melbourne since Australia raised its
national terror threat level to "high" for the first time in September, citing
the likelihood of attacks by Australians radicalised in Iraq or Syria.
Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its action against the
Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, believes at least 70 citizens were fighting in
the region, backed by about 100 Australia-based "facilitators".